Adjustable shape golf tee

ABSTRACT

An adjustable shape golf tee includes an elongated main body having a first end with a pointed tip, and a second end having a circular head for receiving a golf ball. Each of the main shaft, the tip portion, and the circular head are constructed from a flexible material configured to bend and retain an imparted shape.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to sporting goods, and moreparticularly to a device for use in the game of golf.

BACKGROUND

The statements in this section merely provide background informationrelated to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.

The game of golf is one of the most widely played sports activities inthe world. Golf courses typically include either 9 or 18 holes, eachcomprising a teeing ground, a fairway area, one or more roughs(and otherhazards), as well as a putting green where the hole is located.

The first golf shot of each hole is hit from the teeing ground (alsocalled a tee box). In this area, golfers are allowed to elevate the ballslightly above the flat ground in order to achieve better contactbetween the ball and the club. Originally, golfers were required to usesmall piles of sand to create the separation from the ground. However,in recent years, it has become common practice to utilize speciallyconstructed devices called “Tees” for these shots.

To this end, conventionally constructed golf tees typically include arigid elongated shaft (typically a few centimeters) having a concavehead for receiving a golf ball on a first end, and a pointed edge forbeing driven into the ground on the other end. As such, a golfer willtypically, push the pointed edge of the tee into the ground at avertical orientation, before placing a golf ball onto the concave headfor hitting.

Although conventional tees can elevate the ball from the ground, theysuffer from several shortcomings. For example, conventional tees aretypically constructed from wood which tend to break when hit by theclub. This effect causes debris to accumulate on the tee box, and oftentimes the pointed edge of the tee remains in the ground, thus causingissues with grass maintenance. In other instances, golf tees areconstructed from rigid plastic which also has a tendency to break orbend. When the plastic tees bend, the ball is unable to remain on theconcave head portion, and the tee must be discarded.

In addition to the above, traditional golf tees do not give the golferthe flexibility to customize the shape/orientation/angle between theball, the tee and the ground. Such a feature would be beneficial inallowing golfers to tailor the position of the ball around their swing,as opposed to having to tailor their swing around the position of theball.

Accordingly, there remains a need for a golf tee having an adjustableshape that also does not suffer from the drawbacks of the devicesdescribed above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to an adjustable shape golf tee. Oneembodiment of the present invention can include an elongated main bodyhaving a first end with a pointed tip for engaging the ground, and asecond end having a circular head for receiving a golf ball. Each of themain shaft, the tip portion, and the circular head are constructed froma flexible material configured to bend and retain an imparted shape.

Another embodiment of the present invention can include a soft outercoating capable of reducing damage to golf clubs.

Yet another embodiment of the present invention can include anadjustable shaped golf tee that is able to bend in any direction acrossboth the vertical and horizontal axis.

This summary is provided merely to introduce certain concepts and not toidentify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Presently preferred embodiments are shown in the drawings. It should beappreciated, however, that the invention is not limited to the precisearrangements and instrumentalities shown.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an adjustable shape golf tee that is useful forunderstanding the inventive concepts disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the movement of the adjustableshape golf tee in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is another perspective view illustrating the movement of theadjustable shape golf tee in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention.

FIG. 4 a is a perspective view of the adjustable shape golf tee inoperation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 b is another perspective view of the adjustable shape golf tee inoperation, in accordance with one embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the specification concludes with claims defining the features ofthe invention that are regarded as novel, it is believed that theinvention will be better understood from a consideration of thedescription in conjunction with the drawings. As required, detailedembodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, itis to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplaryof the invention which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore,specific structural and functional details disclosed herein are not tobe interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and asa representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variouslyemploy the inventive arrangements in virtually any appropriatelydetailed structure. Further, the terms and phrases used herein are notintended to be limiting but rather to provide an understandabledescription of the invention.

Identical reference numerals are used for like elements of the inventionor elements of like function. For the sake of clarity, only thosereference numerals are shown in the individual figures which arenecessary for the description of the respective figure. For purposes ofthis description, the terms “upper,” “bottom,” “right,” “left,” “front,”“vertical,” “horizontal,” and derivatives thereof shall relate to theinvention as oriented in FIG. 1.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of an adjustable shape golf tee 10that is useful for understanding the inventive concepts disclosedherein.

In one embodiment, the adjustable shape golf tee 10 can include anelongated, generally malleable core member 11 having a soft outercoating 12 secured thereon for forming the outer surface of the tee. Asshown, the golf tee 10 can include a main shaft 13 that is interposedbetween a narrow and/or pointed tip 14 at one end and a generallycircular head 15 at the other end.

The head 15 can preferably be incorporated into the construction of themain shaft, and will include a generally circular shape defining an opencentral portion 15 a upon which a golf ball 5 can be placed. Byincorporating a circular head with an open central portion, the golf tee10 advantageously provides a large surface area for receiving the golfball, while reducing material, weight and manufacturing costs.

While the dimensions of the elements are not critical, and may varydepending on a variety of different factors, in the preferred embodimentthe tee can include a length/height of between 2 and 5 inches, and athickness of approximately 0.03 inches. To this end, the core member 11can preferably be constructed from a single piece of 12 gauge aluminumwire, and the outer coating 12 can be constructed from nylon. Of course,this is for illustrative purposes only, as many other materials capableof receiving and retaining any number of shapes to which it is bent by auser can also be utilized herein. For example, the core member can alsobe constructed from any numbers of different metals, such as electricalwire, and/or strands of flexible plastic, likewise, the outer coatingcan be constructed from Teflon, shrink wrapping and/or plastic. Inaddition to the above, the outer coating can include any number ofdifferent colors and/or markings as desirable to a manufacturer and auser.

By incorporating a soft, outer coating 12 onto the device, theadjustable shape tee can act to prevent dings and other such damagecaused to golf clubs from repeated contact with traditional hard, rigidtees. Moreover, the protective coating 12 can impart a highercoefficient of friction onto the golf ball, as compared to a traditionalwood or rigid plastic tee. Such a feature can advantageously allow theadjustable shape tee 10 to receive and position golf balls in a stablemanner, thus reducing instances of the ball falling from the tee.

As shown in FIG. 2, each portion of the adjustable shape golf tee 10 canbend to form virtually any shape desirable to a user. To this end,arrows B illustrate that the main shaft 13 can be bent at any locationto orient the head 15 at a desired position. Moreover, as shown byarrows A, the head 15 itself can also bend so that it can present aflat, horizontal platform for receiving a golf ball.

As further illustrated in FIG. 3, each portion of the adjustable shapegolf tee 10 can bend at virtually any location to form virtually anydifferent angle across both the vertical (Y) axis and the horizontal (X)axis. Such a feature allows the device to form an unlimited number ofunique shapes.

FIGS. 4 a and 4 b illustrate one embodiment of the adjustable shape teein operation, both before and after a golf shot. As shown in FIG. 4 a, aportion of the tee 10 can be secured into the ground 1 via the end 14.Either before or after placement into the ground, the shape of the teecan be changed to suit the preference of the user, and upon completion,a golf ball 5 can be placed onto the head 15.

As shown in FIG. 4 b, the tee 10 can act to absorb any contact from agolf club upon striking the ball. When struck, the tee 10 can bend (seearrow C) in the direction of the force (see arrow D) applied by theclub, as opposed to breaking. As stated above, owing to the fact thatthe tee is malleable in nature, repeated contact from a golf club willnot cause damage to the tee 10, and the tee can be re-bent to adesirable shape before the next use.

Although described above as including a unitary construction, one ormore elements of the adjustable shape golf tee 10 can be manufacturedseparately and then secured to the remaining elements utilizing anynumber of known attachment means such as, for example, glue, compressionfittings and welds, among others. To this end, one of skill in the artwill recognize that one or more individual elements such as the coremember 11, the main shaft 13, the pointed end 14, and/or the head 15,for example, may be formed together as a plurality of separate elements,or as one continuous element, either through manufacturing processes,such as welding, casting, or molding, or through the use of a singularpiece of material milled or machined with the aforementioned componentsforming identifiable sections thereof.

As to a further description of the manner and use of the presentinvention, the same should be apparent from the above description.Accordingly, no further discussion relating to the manner of usage andoperation will be provided.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particularembodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Asused herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended toinclude the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”and/or “comprising,” when used in this specification, specify thepresence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements,and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of oneor more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements,components, and/or groups thereof.

The corresponding structures, materials, acts, and equivalents of allmeans or step plus function elements in the claims below are intended toinclude any structure, material, or act for performing the function incombination with other claimed elements as specifically claimed. Thedescription of the present invention has been presented for purposes ofillustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive orlimited to the invention in the form disclosed. Many modifications andvariations will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the artwithout departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. Theembodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain theprinciples of the invention and the practical application, and to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the invention forvarious embodiments with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated.

What is claimed is:
 1. An adjustable shape golf tee, comprising: a firstend having a tip portion; a second end having a generally circular headfor receiving a golf ball; and a main shaft interposed between the firstand second ends, wherein each of the main shaft, the tip portion, andthe circular head are constructed from a single elongated core memberthat is configured to bend and retain an imparted shape.
 2. The golf teeof claim 1, wherein each of the tip portion, the circular head and themain shaft further include a soft outer coating, said coating beingconfigured to reduce damage to a golf club.
 3. The golf tee of claim 2,wherein said soft outer coating comprises at least one of nylon andrubber.
 4. The golf tee of claim 1, wherein each of the main shaft, thetip portion, and the circular head are configured to bend across both ahorizontal axis and a vertical axis.
 5. The golf tee of claim 4, whereineach of the main shaft, the tip portion, and the circular head areconfigured to bend independently of each other.
 6. The golf tee of claim1, wherein the circular head further includes an opening positionedwithin a central portion thereof.
 7. The golf tee of claim 1, whereinthe elongated core member is constructed from thin metallic wire.
 8. Thegolf tee of claim 1, wherein the elongated core member comprises asingle piece of twelve gauge aluminum wire.
 9. The golf tee of claim 1,wherein the elongated core member is constructed from strands offlexible plastic.